Down in the Depths
by Elfdragon12
Summary: A three piece set of short stories inspired by Stephen King prompts centering around the Ascension.
1. Chapter 1

This is the first of a short series of Stephen King inspired short stories I wrote for a group.

Secrets

The Ascension always had an unusual bond. Words were rarely needed between them. A look between them conveyed its own conversation. This connection and their connection to darkness made others leery of them.

However, there was something different about them, more so than usual. In the beginning, one could only just notice the changes. Every little detail was just the same, but the intensity, if comprehensible, was dialed up to fifteen. The hits opponents suffered at their hands would be felt for days. Roars and snarls rattled in the minds of those that heard them. In the locker room, when someone passed by, hushed words could be heard that none in the international collection could understand.

Question regarding their behavior were brushed off. The Ascension were always like that.

The other changes were only spoken of in whisper. One witnessed Viktor's eyes grow dark while another saw Konnor's glow in just the right light. At one point, Enzo Amore swore he saw a tail swinging behind one of the pair. Another swore he saw horns.

No one thought this could be true, but the whispers wouldn't stop.

"Think the others suspect anything?" Konnor asked when the two were alone.

"Why should they?" he replied, shaking his head. "To them, demons are little but fignments of imagination, dreamed by children and by religion." He dropped the illusion.

Instead of two men stood two creatures of eternal darkness.

The larger of the two resembled a mishmash of creatures. A pair of horns curled like that of a Bighorn sheep. The skin of his large forearms was covered with hard scales, reminiscent of a crocodile's. The tips of his fingers had thick claws designed to rip and shred his victims. Large tusks jutted his his lower jaw.

Viktor's form echoed the physical differences of their human forms while sharing many traits. He remained a lithe silhouette. Like Konnor, Viktor too had a pair of horns. However, his pair came up from his forehead and back before twisting up like the kob antelope of Africa. Everything in his demonic visage would remind a witness of a bullwhip—strong and ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Behind them, a voice cried out and they could hear skin hitting pavement.

The Ascension turned.

A person they recognized but could not name had seen them. He continued to stare, unable to take his eyes off of the monsters in front of him.

He was a stagehand.

Their faces masks of neutrality, Viktor and Konnor's eyes met. No questions clouded their minds on what they needed to do.

Not a single soul could know.

* * *

I have an especial love for the Ascension as demons. Never question it.


	2. Chapter 2

Transformation

Rituals, the Ascension knew, had to be followed exactly, down to the smallest, minute of details. To make a mistake could cause a rebound or change the intended effect without any predictable connection to the original intent.

Somewhere, a mistake had been made.

The ritual's original intent had been to grant an added wisdom, an expanded knowledge of the universe in which they lived. It was one they had performed before. Knowledge of events to come arrived in a burst, like a firework on a summer night. The event burst into life in their mind with the various outcomes sparkling behind it, giving the Ascension an enlightened decision to muse over.

However, this time, the possible paths refused to follow as they did before. The future event remained in their eyes like the discolored afterimage after staring into a bright light. Soon, more tidbits of the future followed, a waterfall of events that were to come.

It was too much. They were going to drown in the deluge of scenes flooding their minds.

After some time, the downpour of information yet to be finally stopped.

Exhausted after all the knowledge that had been shoved into their minds without pause, both of the Ascension lay on the ground. Their chests heaved for air. Konnor closed his eyes and covered them with one hand.

Viktor forced himself to sit up, his arms shaking with the effort. He leaned his forehead against a propped up knee. "That was not how it was supposed to be," he mumbled between breaths. Breathing through his nose, he forced himself to take in air at an even, measured pace. He glanced at his hand. His fingers trembled.

"You're telling me," Konnor grunted. The larger of the two remained on the ground. "Do you think that's the end of it?"

"It is difficult to be sure," the Scalpel of the Ascension admitted. "We shall have to wait and see."

The next morning, after fitful nights of sleep, both men met in the kitchen. One glance and they knew that the night before hadn't been the end of the backlash. Konnor's hair, brown before, was now black like pitch. As for Viktor, his ears had elongated, looking like a black horse's.

"This is going to be interesting to explain at the show," Konnor said, his eyes watching one of Viktor's ears twitch.

Then an itch tingled at the base of his own ears.

Konnor's fingers trembled as he reached up and touched his own ears. Like trees sprouting from seeds on a quick time lapse, he could feel them change from human to horse in only seconds.

In front of him, Viktor doubled over. A loud cry ripped from his mouth as his body jerked and twitched. His flesh rippled like a disturbed pond.

Then he snapped up straight. A roar of pain burst from his throat as, all at once, his human form burst and the form that took his place fell to the ground.

There was no time for Konnor to consider what happened for spasms shot through his own body. Every inch of his body itched like fire. Although he wasn't cold, his body shivered. If he had been able to keep his hands open long enough from the pain, he would have clawed at his skin. A raw roar seared his throat as his body did the same as his partner's.

While both of the Ascension lay crumpled on the floor in their new forms, thoughts of the future echoed in their minds.

This time, there was no worry.

Pucas were creatures of fortunes to be made.

* * *

My sister suggested the puca for this one and I went along because you don't see pucas all the often and it sounded interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

Vision

As a child, telling someone they would die soon and being proven right only a few days later never attracted the right kind of attention. After all the fuss from the adults and the trouble died off, the other children avoided Viktor. A solitary child already, that didn't bother him. What he could have done without were the whispers.

The next time he foresaw someone's death, he remained silent. It wasn't worth the trouble that went along with it.

Over the course of his childhood and adolescence, Viktor saw the expiration of lives before they occurred. It happened for family, friends, and even strangers. The ability excluded no one.

Upon joining the Ascension and uniting his goals with Konnor's, Viktor confessed to his partner of his silent ability. In the first time in his life, it was accepted. Konnor even found it intriguing and listened with rapt attention as he was told of the different predictions Viktor had over the years.

To watch a life be extinguished before it happened was fascinating. A last breath, the final flutter of eyelids in a peaceful death. A death rasp for air, eyes glazing over as Death took them across the gate. The broken bodies and the deep red blood spilled from violent deaths.

There are so many ways to die. Viktor had seen many of them.

One death of the many he had seen haunted him. Only one.

He had met her during his early days of wrestling in Canada. Not only was she a lovely young woman, she supported his work. It was almost inevitable that he became smitten, especially when they hit on similar interests.

Then a vision of a sickness came.

Viktor denied it at first. This time, the prediction had to be wrong. This once.

However, like the fall of the sun, the sickness claimed her.

Her death was one Viktor did not linger on when discussing them with his partner. Konnor did not press. Between them, it was unnecessary that the words be spoken to understand.

Now, the lithe man had gone some time without seeing death. The cold grip, however, was never far away.

Viktor was taking a moment to breathe after the morning's exercises when the vision hit. His eyes glazed over as he stared beyond the gym walls to where no one could see. The bottle of water was halfway to his mouth.

This time, the vision centered on a woman. She was walking a small white dog. The creature caught the scent of a nearby cat. It paused with ears perked high. The little thing barked twice before jerking its lease out of the woman's hand and bolted across the street.

She called after it, but the dog didn't stop. Without a single thought, she ran after it.

She should have seen the car coming.

But she didn't.

It wasn't until Viktor got a better look at the broken body in its last moments did it hit him. Unable to look away, a pit opened in his gut. The heart he neglected thudded hard inside of his chest for air that would never be enough.

The vision was for Bayley.

* * *

As for why Bayley, I have lots of thoughts about Bayley and the Ascension having an odd friendship. For a more concrete reason so I won't spend multiple paragraphs talking about, once upon a time, Viktor (as Rick Victor) participated in an intergender match with Bayley. I don't think I can put links here, but google Rick Victor and Bayley and you'll find it. Also, there exists a gif of Bayley talking and, as Viktor walks by, he tugs on her headband.

This is the final one I have, ending with a more emotional tug. I hope you enjoyed these little stories.


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